1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of masking the unpleasant taste and/or odor of certain animal and vegetable oils to form pleasant tasting and pleasant smelling oil compositions. The pleasant tasting and pleasant smelling oil compositions are useful as solvents or starting materials for the formation of number of products. Oil based products are useful in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Well known techniques utilized to improve the taste and odor of unpleasant oils include purification of the oil through: distillation, extraction and precipitation. These techniques are intended to remove off tasting and off smelling components producing a bland or neutral tasting and neutral smelling oil.
The distillation, extraction and precipitation techniques are expensive and often remove more than the undesirable oil components. In addition, purified oils on standing form new unpleasant tasting and smelling degradation products , usually oxidative, of the fatty acids present in the oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 85,668 to Hyatt discloses masking the taste of cod liver oil and other oils for medicinal use. Hyatt reduces the oil to an emulsive condition then unites it with carbonic acid gas in the form of a carbonated liquid. This insures the simultaneous entrance of both the gas and oil into the stomach.
The emulsion is formed by mixing 2 parts syrup of gum, or syrup of gelatin with one part oil, beating the mass well together, and adding some flavoring material. When combined with the carbonated liquid, a "bottled soda-water" like product is formed.
The process of Hyatt totally changes the character of the oil in producing gas-aqueous-oil gum or gelatin mixtures. These mixtures are not readily formulated into food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,924 to Berling et, al., discloses pleasant-tasting, non-greasy, edible oil or oil-like materials, a high potency, lipid soluble sweetener, such as saccharin, and a lipid soluble flavorant. These compositions are particularly useful as an oral dosage form for vitamins or pharmaceutical materials; in such embodiments the edible oil-like material may consist, in whole or in part, of an oily pharmaceutical agent, such as polyol fatty acid esters having at least four fatty acid ester groups, each fatty acid having from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms.
It is desirable to produce pleasant tasting, pleasant smelling oil compositions from unpleasant oils having an unpleasant taste and/or unpleasant odor by a low cost process that leaves the oil essentially unchanged.